Potato-harvester.



No. 68I,644. Patented Ag. 27, I90I.'

N. LEGER. POTATOHARVESIEH.

(Appucmnn am xn. 1a. 190x.) (No Model.) 4 Shoots-Shed I.

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no. salrm. Patented Aug. 27, lem. n. LEGER.

POTATO HARVESTER.

(Application led In'. 18, 1901.)

4 sheets-sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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No. sa|,44. Patented Aug. 27,'l9ol. n. LEGER.

PUTATU HARVESTER.

I (Application filed Mar. 1B, 1901.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

No. 68|,644. Patented Aug. 27, |90I. N. LEGER.

PUTATU HARVESTER.

(Application med mr. 1s, 190m (No Model.) 4 shepts-shet- 4.

Wimesses; .mzlwc (ejer, lnvenfor v am UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NARCISSE LEGER, OF VALLEYFIELD, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO LOUIS A. JACQUES, OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

POTATO-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,644, dated August 27, 1901.

riginal application tiled December 13, 1900, Serial No. 39.618. Divided and this application tiled March 18.1901. Serial No. 51,629. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern/- Beit known that I, NARCISSE LEGER, a subject of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, residing at Valleyfield, county of Beauharnois, Province of Quebec, Canada,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato-Harvesters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in potato-harvesters; and the subject-matter of this application is a division of a prior application for Letters Patent filed by me on December 13, 1900, Serial No. 39,618.

The objects of my invention are to provide means for eliiciently assorting or grading the potatoes according to size into two or more lots and to provide a duplex elevator mechanism operable directly in connection with certain parts of the assorting mechanism and adapted to elevate the assorted and cleaned potatoes for the purpose of depositing the same into different bags or receptacles.

With these ends in View the invention consists in the novel combination, construction, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the drawings hereto annexed, forming a part of this specilication, Figure 1 is a plan view of a potato-harvester embodying my improved means for assorting and bagging potatoes. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the machine with the elevator boot or casing in section. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical transverse sections taken in the planes indicated by the dotted lines 3 3 and 4 4, respectively, on Fig. 2, each section looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. Fig. 5 is a plan View of the asserting-shoe removed from the machine, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section in the plane of the dotted line 6 6 on Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is another horizontal section in the plane of the dotted line 8 8 on Fig. 6. Figs. 9 and 10 are vertical sectional elevations of a modified form of the elevator.

The same numerals of reference denote like parts in each figure of the drawings.

The harvesting-machine embraces a horizontal main frame 10, having the main axle 1l and the ground-wheels 12. To this frame is secured a draft-tongue 18,which is equipped with a draft appliance 19, and on the frame is mounted a seat 20. The main frame is equipped with an inclined conveyor, which is confined within a housing 23 and is embodied in the form of an endless slatted conveyer supported and driven by a shaft 24, and on this shaft is secured a sprocket-pinion 34, engaged b ya driving-chain 35, which is driven from a sprocket-wheel 36 on the counter-shaft 37, the latter being geared to the axle 11.

The potatoes are dug from the ground by a suitable shovel orscoop 40, which is disposed in advance of the lower extremity of the inclined conveyer and is arranged to deliver the potatoes to the latter. The rotary vineclearer has a shaft 66, journaled in suitable bearings on the arms 62, whereby said clearer is arranged in rear of the upper delivery portion of the inclined conveyor.

All of the mechanisms heretofore described are located on the left-hand side of the machine-frame; but on the right-hand side of this frame is arranged a duplicate elevator mechanism and a standing platform, whereby `potatoes of different sizes and which have been assorted by the machine may be automatically delivered into suitable bags or other receptacles. Intermediate between the conveyer mechanism and'the elevator mechanism is an assorting-shoe 72, which is arranged at the rear portion of the machine-frame and disposed in a position transverse tothe conveyer and elevator mechanisms, said assorting-shoe receiving the potatoes from the conveyer mechanism being operable toV grade the potatoes according to size, and delivering the assorted potatoes to different members of the duplex elevator mechanism, which separately discharge the different sizes of potatoes into proper bags. This assorting-shoe is provided with an extension 73, that lies below the delivery end of the conveyor and also below the rotary clearer. pended by a bail 74 and by hanger-links 81,l said bail extending entirely around the shoe at a point intermediate of the length thereof,

and the bail being, furthermore, providedv shoe-bail and the hanger-links 81 are so ar lranged as to properly support the shoe at the rear part of the machine-frame and also to enable the shoe to be vibrated or shaken transversely around the vertical axis afforded by the pivot 7G, and with the shoe is associatcd means to be hereinafter described for positivelyv Vibrating` the shoe in a manner to discharge potatoes of different sizes laterally from the shoe and into the duplicate members of the elevator mechanism. A brace 82 is secured between each pair of posts 78 80 and the rear cross-bar of the frame. shoe is provided in its extended portion with al primary grating 83, having an upwardly- 'inclined extension 83a and made, preferably, of rods or wires. The .primary assortingplate 84 is arranged to practically form a continuation of the primary grating; but said plate 84 is held removably in place by suitable tension rods or bolts 85. The end portions of the plate 84 rest upon the tensionrods, which pass through the sides of the shoe and are provided with suitable nuts arranged to bind the sides of the shoe against the edges of the plate. The plate 84 is provided with openings of large and small si'ze arranged indiscriminately, so as to allow potatoes to pass into the compartment 88, within which is arranged an inclined secondary assorting-plate 86, the latter having openings which permit the small potatoes to pass therethrough and to lodge upon the grating 87. The secondary plate 86 is inclined toward a grating 89, which .is provided in the compartment 90, adapted to receive potatoes of large size, which may pass through the openings in the primary assorting-plate 84 or be delivered thereto by the secondary asserting-plate 86.

From the inner side of the assorting-shoe extend the spouts 91 92, the former communicating with the compartment 88 and the lat- 'ter with the compartment 90, said spout 91 being arranged, preferably, on a lower plane than the bottom of the spout 92, whereby potatoes of small size may be discharged from the compartment 88 through the spout 91, and potatoes of large size are discharged'from the other compartment throughthe spout 92.

vA connecting-rod 93 is pivoted to one side of the asserting-shoe to extend across the Said shoe is sus? Thisright-hand side of the machine-frame and is journaled in suitable bearings thereon.

96 designates an elevator-boot which is supported in an inclined position at the righthand side portion of the frame. 'This boot consists of suitable side pieces and a sheetmetal covering 98, which is provided with the rearwardly-extending lips 99 100, which lie in different horizontal planes and are arranged to t beneath the spouts 91 92 of the assorting-shoe. These spouts of the shoe and the lips of the elevator-boot overlap each other to a considerable extent, so` as to prevent spaces from forming between these parts bythe vibration of the shoe, and the rear part of the casing or boot has suitable openings 102, through which the potatoes may pass when discharged from the shoe and delivered to the elevator mechanism. A separator 101 is supported on the casing or boot to occupy a position between the spouts 91 92 and to prevent the potatoes from one spout from passing into the opening, which is supplied by the other spout, thus preventing potatoes of large and small sizes from being mixed in the elevator-boot; said boot or casing is furthermore divided into separate longitudinal compartments by arranging a partition 103 in the casing, said partition conforming to the shape of the boot or casing to which it is secured and also provided with a longitudinal slot 104, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear.

The elevator which 1 employ is of the endless variety, and it is driven by a drivingshaft 105, journaled in suitable bearings on the elevator-boot, so as to occupy a position near the upper end of the slot 104 in the partition 103. Said elevator-driving shaft in one embodiment of my invention is provided with sprocket-wheels 106, which are engaged by the elevator-chains 107, the latter connected by the cross rods or bars 108, said bars or rods arranged to travel in the slot 104 of the partition. These rods or bars in one compartment of the divided elevator casing or boot support a series of large buckets 109, constituting one member of the duplex elevator, and the same rods or bars also carry another series of buckets 110 of smaller size in the other compartment of the elevatorboot, said last-mentioned series of buckets 110v forming the other member of the duplex .elevator. The lower part of the endless elevator travels around an idler-shaft 111, journaled in the foot of the casing near the lower end of the slot 104 in the partition 103 and provided with a roller 112. The ascending side of the endless elevator travels close to a grate 113, formed by a plurality of bars or rods, which are curved, as at 114, around the upper shaft 105. The elevator-shaft is driven IOO IOS

IIO

- by a sprocket-gear Anished with a guard-rail 129.

115, engaged by a chain 116, that is propelled bya sprocket-wheel 117 on the axle 11. The other end of the elevator-shaft has a sprocket-Wheel 118, which is engaged by an endless chain 119, that serves to drive the stub-shaft 95, having the crankdisk 94, to drive the pitman of the transversely-vibrating shoe, said lower part of the chain 119 engaging with a sprocket- Wheel 119l on saidstub-shaft 95.

The elevator boot or casing is provided with the discharge-spouts 120, each adapted to be closed by a hinged gate 121 through the medium of a latch 122. Said spouts are each provided with bag-suspension hooks 123, and the spouts are adapted to be closed bya common gate 124, the same having slots 125, through which pass the bolts 126.

127 designates a platform secured to the frame in front of the elevator, on which a machine attendant may stand for removing and attaching the bags, said platform being fur- A step 130 is suspended from the rear end of the frame, and a handle 131 is attached to one of the cross-rails 77,- said step accommodating a boy or other attendant who should remove lumps of dirt,- 'stone, or other refuse from the shoe.

In lieu of the endless elevator consisting of the chains, sprockets, and cross-bars, I may employ two endless pliable belts 132,0f leather or other material, said belts being fitted to a common driving-roller 133 and to a suitable idler. (Not shown.) One belt is adapted to carry buckets of large size, While the other belt carries the smaller buckets. An elevator of this type dispenses with the grate 113.

Changes Within the scope of the appended claims may be made in the form and proportion of some of the parts While their essential features are retained and the spirit of the invention is embodied. Hence I do not desire to be limited to the precise form of all the parts, as shown, reserving the right to vary therefrom.

Having thus described I claim as new is- 1. In a potato-harvester, the combination with aconveyer mechanism, of an assortingshoe provided with the primary grating, a primary plate, compartments With a grating in each for potatoes of different sizes, and a secmy invention, What ondary plate in one of the compartments and discharging to the other compartment, substantially as described.

2. In a potato-harvester, an asserting-shoe provided Ywith a casing divided into separate compartments, each havinga grated bottom, a grate 86 in the primary compartment Which first receives the load and arranged to deliver to the secondary compartment, and an assorting-plate disposed over both compartments, substantially as described.

3. In a potato-harvester, an asserting-shoe provided With a casing divided into separate compartments each having a grated bottom and an individual discharge-opening, an assorting-plate over all the compartments, and aprimary load-receiving grating disposed substantially in the same plane as the assortingplate, as set forth.

4. In a potato-harvester, an assorting-shoe comprisinga casing divided into separate compartmentseach having a grated bottom and a laterally-extending discharge-spout, an assorting-plat-e over both of said compartments, an inclined grating in the primary compartment and arranged to deliver to the secondary compartment, and a primary grating in the plane of the assorting-plate, substantially as described.

5. In a potato-harvester, the combination With a conveyer mechanism, of an assertingshoe suspended for vibration around a vertical axis and divided into compartments each having a grated bottom and a laterally-extending discharge-spout, an assorting-plate over both compartments of the shoe, a primary grating carried by the shoe and disposed contiguous to the conveyer mechanism' to receive the load directly therefrom, means for imparting a lateral vibratory movement to the shoe, and a duplex elevator mechanism having independent receiving-spouts operatively related to the laterally-extending discharge-spouts of the shoe, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two Witnesses.

NARCISSE LEGER.

Witnesses:

I-IOMERE DoRAY, J. A; N. BOYER. 

